July 2013

July 31, 2013

In November 2012 we posted an in-depth report introducing ISIS, an e-wallet service project developed by AT&T, Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless. For the last nine months the ISIS venture has tested their system out at more than 4,000 locations in Austin Texas. They're now preparing to take the system live nationally this fall. According to a new report, the mobile payment system that works primarily with NFC technology will also work with Apple's iPhone.

The App Store opened on July 10, 2008 via an update to iTunes. On July 11, the iPhone 3G was launched and came pre-loaded with iOS 2.0.1 with App Store support and zipping through to the present, Apple recently celebrated their new 50 billionth app download record. To capture the buzz about the App Store, Apple originally created an ad back in 2009 coining the phrase "There's an App for That," and even filed a trademark for it in that same year. Now even the Indian Government is getting into the App Store craze.

On Sunday we posted a special report titled "The Perfect Storm: All Eyes are on Apple's Strategy for China covering current trends and possible moves to unfold later this year. Apple has been in secret talks with China Mobile for the past four years and in January China Mobile admitted to a confidentiality agreement with Apple which was the first sign that a plan could be in place for the iPhone to debut on their network within the next year. Now Cook is back in China making new headlines.

July 30, 2013

On a slow summer day, the US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 16 newly granted patents for Apple covering such things as a mystery handheld device designed by the late Steve Jobs along with others related to the iPhone, iPhone camera and more.

July 29, 2013

Buried within a new scathing report on labor conditions found at Apple iPhone supplier plants, we find two references about Apple's entry-level mid-range iPhone. The report states that "Pegatron (Shanghai) Ltd Co. is part of the Pegatron Group, which was a subsidiary of Pegatron Group until 2010. Pegatron primarily assembles cell phones and tablet PCs for Apple. Its assembled products include iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, and low-priced plastic iPhones."

The latest smartphone sales data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, for the three months to June 2013, show Apple's iOS has surged 5.2 percentage points to 30.5% of the British smartphone market, driven by first-time smartphone buyers opting for the iPhone 4.

Today, Network World decided to run a headline that reads "US patent office rejects claims of Apple 'pinch to zoom' patent." Of course that's only true in part, as Apple has 60 days to appeal the ruling. Is this a case of Déjà vu? Yes, more than likely.

Today, China Labor Watch (CLW) published an investigative report detailing the labor violations of three factories of Pegatron Group, a major supplier to Apple. In 2013, Apple has increased its orders to these factories, which have benefitted from and relied upon labor violations to increase their competitive edge. In a CLW video provided for in our report, you'll hear the claim that one of the plants violating China's labor laws is a plant now making Apple's new mid-level iPhone. Report Updated July 30, 2013.

July 28, 2013

During Apple's F3Q 2013 Conference call on Tuesday Tim Cook tried to explain away Apple's decline in China this past quarter as being attributed to Hong Kong being "an international shopping haven." That was the only reasoning given for a 20% decline in iPhone sales in Hong Kong. Cook later resigned to saying that he wouldn't get discouraged over a 90-day cycle that could have economic factors and other things in it. For being a statistics man, his response was a little vague if not odd.

July 27, 2013

While Patently Apple does post some reports based on rumors emanating from Taiwan and Chinese supply chain sources, we shy away from the bizarre, the truly unbelievable or the ridiculous. Yet some sites don't mind stepping over the line and this week's rumored iPhone lite photos were clear proof of that. The rumored photos were simply over the top stupid. To some, they were just insulting.

July 26, 2013

In May, Nuance CEO Paul Ricci confirmed in an interview with Walt Mossberg that their technology was in fact behind Apple's Siri (See the 6:28 mark of this video interview). Whether that admission violated their contract with Apple isn't known. But what we can confirm, is that Apple now has a new advanced voice recognition team set up in Boston. Whether this is a move to break away from their reliance on Nuance in the future is unknown at this time.

According to the IDC's latest report, Apple posted its second-lowest year-over-year iPhone growth rate in almost four years as some buyers presumably held off on iPhone purchases in advance of an expected next-generation device launch this fall. Nonetheless, the 31.2 million iPhones Apple shipped last quarter was impressive as its flagship iPhone 5 model, which has been in the market for three quarters, was faced with additional global competition in the form of Samsung's Galaxy S4 and HTC's critically-acclaimed One models.

July 25, 2013

On July 25, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a new feature coming to Safari that advances the nature of tabbed browsing. When you have a sea of open tabs before you, it's difficult if not impossible to find that one tab that you want to access quickly. Apple introduces a new Carousel concept to advance tab browsing and eliminate that problem. Today's report concludes with the listing of a few other minor patent applications that were published today by USPTO that some of you might find interesting.

On July 25, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals charging techniques for Solid State batteries. Solid State batteries fall into low-power density and high-energy density categories. On the latter side of the equation, Toyota is working on a Solid State battery for 2020 vehicles that will deliver 3 to 4 times battery life. Obviously Apple is interested in the low-power side of Solid State batteries for iDevices and likely future wearable computers. According to Wikipedia, Solid Sated batteries "are easy to miniaturize and can be constructed in thin film form," which would be great in context with bendable devices and those with flexible displays. They also eliminate the problem of electrolyte leakage found in traditional batteries. This kind of batteries also tends to have very long shelf lives and usually don't have any abrupt changes in performance with temperature, such as might be associated with electrolyte freezing or boiling. At the end of the day, we'd like to see battery life extended for iDevices in the 3 to 4 times range like the goal Toyota is aiming for. Now that would be great news.

On July 25, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals methods for forming three-dimensional structures which may be configured to provide desirable characteristics with respect to light, sound, and fluid travel therethrough. Further, the three-dimensional structures may be configured to define desired stiffness, weight, and/or flexibility within a device. The three-dimensional structures may be employed in embodiments including heat sinks, housings, speaker or vent covers, springs, etc. Apple's patent FIG. 5 noted in our cover graphic illustrates an example embodiment of a three-dimensional structure that includes connecting members defining a box structure. Hidden within Apple's patent is the fact that it relates to liquid metal applications.